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From the TurfNet NewsDesk

  • John Reitman
    The song Tiny Bubbles first made Don Ho, and his listeners, happy back in 1967.
    Fast forward almost 50 years, and bubbles that are much smaller than those the Hawaiian crooner sang about are making golf course owners, operators and superintendents even happier.
    For the past four years, NanoOxygen Systems has been focused on improving water quality and turf conditions on golf courses by injecting oxygen and ozone into irrigation water. The result is better quality water that can help golf course superintendents grow a healthier plant while also using fewer inputs.
    Through cavitation, the company's technology infuses the entire water column with non-buoyant, ultrafine bubbles that are 200 nanometers (200 billionths of a meter) in size. Because the bubbles — which NanoOxygen describes as 500 times smaller than those that are found in a glass of beer — are non-buoyant, they remain in the water longer.

    World Golf Hall of Famer Jan Stephenson, here with magician Kevin Dawson at this years GCSAA Conference and Show, is a believer in using ultrafine bubbles to improve water and turf quality at her Tarpon Woods Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida. Photo by John Reitman Founded by Ron Pote, a chemical engineer by trade, the NanoOxygen Systems technology works by forcing water through a series of cavitation chambers and shear planes. A controlled endothermic reaction inside the chambers produces microscopic nano bubbles that are smaller than a virus at a rate of 240 million per gallon of water.
    The NanoOxygen service begins with an assessment of irrigation pond water quality, including depth, oxygen content and sediment. 
    Those who use the technology in their irrigation ponds say the water becomes clearer, turf is healthier and requires less water and chemical inputs. Plant and other aquatic life also thrive in that environment, Pote says.
    The system has been shown to produce results that include:
    Eliminate irrigation pond sediment. Eliminate algae blooms. Reduce pathogens. Restore aquatic system health. Increase plant respiration. Reduced chemical and water costs. Some of the benefits users have reported in turfgrass systems include:
    Increase in root length and root mass. Improved respiration and overall plant health. Improved translocation of active ingredients i.e. fungicides, insecticides etc. Improved uptake and translocation of nutrients. Improved growing environment for beneficial bacteria, fungi in the soil. Improved water penetration observations. Improved stress tolerance and reduced disease. As the owner of Tarpon Woods Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida, World Golf Hall of Famer Jan Stephenson has been a NanoOxygen customer for more than two years.

    NanoOxygen Systems uses ultrafine bubbles to improve water and turf quality on golf courses. NanoOxygen Systems photo Rainwater contains 7-10 ppm of dissolved oxygen. The levels of dissolved oxygen in the irrigation pond at Tarpon Woods was maybe half that two years ago, Stephenson said. Since using the NanoOxygen Systems technology, she says water in the irrigation pond at Tarpon Woods is double that found in rainwater. The water in the pond is clearer, and Stephenson said the increased water quality has had lasting effects on the golf course where it brings the dissolved oxygen to the plant.
    The turf there is healthier because of improved irrigation water quality, says Stephenson, and thus requires less water and fewer chemical inputs.
    Stephenson has been so impressed with the results, she was a booth ambassador for the technology at this year's GCSAA Conference and Trade Show.
    "We're using less water," Stephenson said. "Water use is down about 20 percent."
  • To help superintendents find solutions to common turfgrass management challenges faster and more efficiently, Syngenta recently launched its GreenCast Connect mobile app.
    GreenCast Connect offers three levels of access for users. 
    The free Basic tier features site-specific weather and pest-alert tools including the Smith-Kerns dollar spot model. 
    It also includes a disease and pest guide with recommended product solutions for each, a guide for Syngenta products complete with all label and SDS information, tank mix calculator and geographic specific support.
    The Advanced subscription-based version includes enhanced pest alerts and Growing Degree Day trackers, and the Pro tier integrates seamlessly with Spiio soil sensors to provide a comprehensive, all-in-one digital agronomy solution.
    The app's customizable dashboard ensures that data, predictions and recommendations are always at users' fingertips.
    "GreenCast Connect represents a significant leap forward in digital agronomy," said Steve Dorer, head of Syngenta digital platforms. "By putting powerful, real-time data and analytics directly into the hands of turf professionals, we're enabling enhanced decision-making and more efficient resource management."
    Key features of the GreenCast app include:
    Forecasting: Accurate, GPS-based predictions for weather, pest activity, turf growth and soil conditions. Alerting: Customizable notifications for severe weather events, pest risks and changes in soil conditions. Tracking: Advanced models to monitor and predict risks from diseases, weeds and insects. Scouting: Capture photos and take notes on-site to document turf health and growth progress. Sensing: Real-time readings from Spiio in-ground soil sensors, including soil moisture, temperature, salinity and light. Monitoring: Tailored insights such as severe weather events, pest risks, spray windows, net water gain/loss, evapotranspiration, GDD alerts and growth potential.  "The ability to access live, location-specific data from our mobile devices is a game-changer for turf professionals," said Scott White, marketing manager for Syngenta digital platforms. "GreenCast Connect is built with the needs of today's turf and landscape professionals in mind, providing them with an actionable tool to optimize performance, reduce costs and improve turf health across all types of landscapes."
    GreenCast Connect is available on the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
  • For more than two decades, the face of many golf courses across North America has changed thanks to an invasive pest no larger than a dime.  
    Since it was detected in southeastern Michigan in 2002 after arriving in Detroit in packing material aboard a cargo ship from China, the emerald ash borer has cut a swath of devastation across the continent, and has left a trail of millions of dead ash trees in its wake, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
    Finally, help is on the way that might prevent a virtual wipeout of ash trees across North America by the emerald ash borer, and could result in repopulating forests and other areas, including affected golf courses, with naturally resistant trees.
    In 2010, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service officials in Ohio identified healthy ash trees scattered in an area populated with other dead, dying and infected trees. They wondered why some trees remained viable among such widespread devastation. Ensuing research indicates that those trees exhibited natural immunity to the ash borer. 
    That research has led to scientists cloning trees from the most resistant stock that they hope can be used to repopulate forests that have been decimated during the past two-plus decades.
    The cloned trees exhibited increased resistance to EAB, compared with parent trees, with some even killing the larvae, a finding that has surprised forestry officials.
    "The mantra at the time was no co-evolution, no resistance, meaning that since this insect was from a whole other continent and our trees didn't grow up exposed to them that they didn't evolve any sort of mechanisms to defend themselves," U.S. Forest Service geneticist Jennifer Koch, Ph.D., told PBS in Detroit. 
    "Now, we're convinced (cloning resistant trees) works."
    Adult ash borers lay their eggs in the tree's cambium layer between the bark and the wood. Larvae hatch and as they feed create a series of tunnels and channels through the cambium layer, cutting off the tree's circulatory system and preventing the flow of water and nutrients. 
    To date, EAB has been confirmed in 38 U.S. states and five provinces in Canada. Adult EAB can fly only a short way. Their main mode of transportation is as a stow away in infested firewood. 
    EAB recently was detected in Oregon's Willamette Valley, and researchers at Oregon State University in Corvallis wrote that the pest "will likely kill most of the ash trees in forests and urban plantings in Oregon over the coming decades."
    Researchers at Penn State, however, believe that there is enough genetic diversity in the Oregon ash that it too can be used to breed naturally resistant trees. The Oregon ash populates forests from California to Canada.

    Scientists are busy researching ash trees that are naturally resistant to EAB, and hope they can use the stock to replenish areas that have been depleted during the past 20-plus years. University of Minnesota photo Koch said reforesting could begin in the next decade, however, the USFS will have to identify geo-specific resistant parent trees to maximize the chances of success. 
    "We're working with trees from Ohio and Michigan, so I can't take those trees and the resistance they produce and plant them all the way down to Mississippi. They won't be adapted to grow there," Koch told PBS. "So we have to do what we're doing over and over to make seed orchards for each separate region."
    The USFS needs help, however, identifying other resistant trees for potential parents.
    "We need other people out there who are in the forest, keeping an eye open looking for large, surviving, healthy ash trees," said Kathleen Knight, Ph.D., research ecologist with the USFS. "Because there's not enough of us to survey every forest and there are a lot of important trees out there that could be missed if people aren't watching out for them."
  • The University of Wisconsin has been a leader for decades in providing future turf managers with all the tools needed for success with traditional, degree-based education.
    Today, the university also is playing a leading role in helping those seeking a turf management education without investing the time and finances required in a conventional baccalaureate program.
    The university's turf department recently wrapped up version three and opened registration for the fourth edition of its turfgrass apprenticeship program, an accelerated track that helps prepare students for careers in turf through a curriculum consisting of two 12-week sessions of in-class instruction and a traditional internship. The apprenticeship was developed by University of Wisconsin professors Paul Koch, Ph.D., and Doug Soldat, Ph.D., in collaboration with the Wisconsin Golf Course Superintendent's Association.  
    "Every time Doug Soldat and I would visit a golf course, nobody wanted to talk about diseases, or turfgrass. They wanted to talk about labor," Koch said. "We didn't have as many students and they wanted to know where their next assistant was going to come from and what we were doing to address that."

    The University of Wisconsin recently completed the third year of an apprenticeship program that helps prepare students for careers in turf management on a compressed timeline. UW photo Courses that are taught are:
    Intro to Turfgrass Management (fall semester) Intro to Turfgrass Soils, Irrigation and Drainage (fall) Nutrient Management (winter) Integrated Pest Management (winter) Classroom instruction is taught by Soldat and Koch. The fall term runs from early November to mid-December. The winter session begins in mid-January and ends in late February. Students then are required to complete a field-based apprenticeship at a golf course, athletic complex or other turf management facility. Registration for the next session begins Saturday.
    Many of the students in the apprenticeship program already are working at a golf course, but lack the education needed to advance their careers.
    "Some have already been working at a golf course for five, six or seven years, and want to take that next step that wouldn't be available to them without some education," Koch said. "Some are right out of high school, and some have a B.S. degree in something else and are career-changers.
    "Since many of these students already work on a golf course, this is more about identifying someone on your team who has potential and helping them develop that talent."
    To date, the program has graduated about 55 students. Most come from inside Wisconsin, but it also attracts students from Minnesota and the Chicago area.
    "I mean I never really had any of the formal education we get with the (apprenticeship) program," Brad Young, a graduate of the program, said in a video promoting the apprenticeship program. "It's here you learn the sciences, you learn the grasses, you learn the soils, you learn practices."
  • Capillary Flow, which offers a variety of drainage, moisture control and irrigation products and services for use in golf, athletic field, equestrian facility and public area markets, recently expanded its distribution network throughout Canada.
    That distribution expansion is the result of agreements between Capillary Flow and Soltek, BoydCo Golf and Turf and Iconix Waterworks as regional partners, and gives golf course superintendents and turf managers greater access to Capillary Flow’s bunker-management solutions.
    "BoydCo, Iconix and Soltek have the experience and dedication needed to effectively serve the Canadian market, supporting our leading bunker liner system as well as our hydroponic turf system," said James Smith, sales and installation manager, CapillaryFlow, Canada.

    Capillary Flow has reached agreements with Soltek, Iconix and BoydCo Golf and Turf to expand its reach throughout Canada. Capillary Flow photo Soltek is Capillary Flow’s new partner for customers in Quebec and Ontario, with additional sales support from Hutcheson Sand and Mix in Ontario. Based in Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan, Quebec, Soltek is a distributor of products and services for the golf and equestrian industries. 
    With headquarters in Moncton, New Brunswick, BoydCo Golf and Turf is a distributor of pesticides, fertilizers and mechanized equipment and services and will serve as the distribution partner for Canada's maritime provinces of Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. 
    A subsidiary of the Deschênes Group, Iconix is based in Richmond, British Columbia and will serve customers in western Canada. Founded in 1999 as a provider of wastewater solutions, Iconix has grown to 40 include outlets throughout Canada and the U.S.
  • In an industry where golf course superintendents seek concrete solutions to recurring problems, longtime University of Nebraska professor Roch Gaussoin, Ph.D., served as a reminder for nearly 40 years that a fix is not always so black and white.
    "Biology is not like physics. It's not absolute," Gaussoin said. "Biology is a 'maybe' most of the time. Trying to relate it to something like managing turf, it's not that simple, it's a complex machine.
    "We're searching for new ways to do things. We used to put 8 to 10 pounds of nitrogen on greens. Who does that anymore? You adapt, and you change."
    Gaussoin is five months into a retirement that was among the best-kept secrets in turfgrass.
    Gaussoin, who officially retired in October after 33 years at Nebraska and retains the title of professor emeritus, has relocated to Advance, North Carolina in the Winston-Salem area so he and wife Priscilla can be closer to their two young grandchildren.
    "I didn't make a big deal about it. It just sort of happened," said the 67-year-old Gaussoin.
    "I didn't have a big to-do at the university. It was just time. I'm still doing some work with the USGA and some other stuff.
    "We have grandkids who are 5 and 8 in North Carolina, and my wife is retired. It was just time, and I didn't want to protract it out anymore. I have no regrets. I had a great career."
    Gaussoin earned bachelor's and master's degrees from New Mexico State in 1980 and 1983, respectively, and a doctorate in crop and soil sciences in 1988 at Michigan State.
    It was in East Lansing that he worked with two researchers who profoundly impacted his career - Paul Rieke, Ph.D., and Bruce Branham, Ph.D.
    "I was Bruce's first graduate student at Michigan State," Gaussoin said. "We were close in age, so that was like a very good friendship. Paul Rieke had a huge influence on how I look at the world."

    Roch Gaussoin, Ph.D., changed the way many superintendents think about greens aerification. University of Nebraska photo Much of his outlook in the world of turfgrass management was defying convention.
    Gaussoin has had an ongoing relationship with the USGA for much of his career at Nebraska, which began in 1991. He eventually received a grant from the USGA for work related to modifying recommendations for greens construction.
    Gaussoin decided early on that what happens after a green is built is as important, if not more, than initial construction. And he dedicated more than 20 years of his career to improving conditions below the surface.
    Throughout his career, Gaussoin earned a reputation of questioning traditional methods of aerating the soil on golf courses, namely use of solid tines vs. pulling a core. And his opinions generated a great deal of friction from within the industry.
    "Early on, people said 'Well, Roch says you don't have to aerate anymore.' I never said that," he said. "What I said, was it was possible to achieve similar results without pulling a core.
      "I was pushed on a lot over that. Some people told me I should back off on that. I told them I'm not going to pull back, I was going to push back."
    His philosophy on solid tining has since been reinforced by countless scientific trials.
    "Science is about discovering and reacting," he said. "It's not definitive; it's just changing the way you think about things and realize there might be something better. Being open minded is critical."
    For his contributions to the industry, Gaussoin was named the 1993 recipient of the USGA Green Section Award.
    "I hope that people can look back at how my career has been productive and solid," he said. "That doesn't happen without surrounding yourself with people who are better and smarter than you."
  • Dennis Lyon, CGCS, headed municipal golf in Aurora, Colorado for 37 years. Colorado Golf Association photo via Dennis Lyon Dennis Lyon, CGCS, played such an important role in Colorado's golf industry that a decade ago the state's golf association dubbed him its Superintendent of the Century.
    A former GCSAA president and superintendent and manager of golf for the city of Aurora for 37 years before he retired in 2010, Lyon (right) died Feb. 19. He was 76.
    Lyon's accomplishments in golf were many. He served as GCSAA president in 1989 and won the USGA Green Section Award in 2011. Just a few weeks ago, on Feb. 6, he received the Leo Feser Award at the annual GCSAA Conference and Show in San Diego. The award is presented annually to the author of the best superintendent-written article published in Golf Course Management magazine. While accepting the award, Lyon talked about how he enjoyed reaching out to provide feedback to fellow superintendents whose work appears in trade publications and was grateful for the support he received for his award-winning work in GCM that was a reflection on his three-plus decades as a superintendent.
    In 2013, he was the recipient of the GCSAA's Col. John Morley Award that is given each year to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of the golf course superintendent profession.
    During Lyon's 37-year career in Aurora, the city's golf portfolio grew from one to a high of seven (it currently manages five), and he was the host superintendent for the 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship held at Murphy Creek Golf Course.
    On a local level, Lyon also was a former president of the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association and the Rocky Mountain Regional Turfgrass Association. In 2005, he was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame and in 2011 was the recipient of the association's lifetime achievement award. The Colorado Golf Association named him its Superintendent of the Century at its 2015 Century of Golf Gala.
  • For the past 20 years, Tom Hsieh has led efforts to restore the historic Gleneagles Golf Course at McLaren Park to some level of its former glory, and he has had to come up with some inventive ways to do it. Each year, it seems as if he has to come up with a new plan to keep things running.
    The nine-hole municipal course in San Francisco has defied the odds for survival so many times, thanks to the innovative ways Hsieh (right) has implemented to overcome the many challenges that such an operation encounters on an almost-daily basis, that Gleneagles appears to have more lives than a cat.
    "It's been difficult," Hsieh said. "And there is always uncertainty of what might happen."
    When Hsieh took over management of the golf course in 2005, he lacked the resources and support from the city to get it into shape that would attract golfers and keep them coming in the door, so he turned to some private clubs in the area to help out, and they did with equipment, programs, product and personnel.
    Like many places, Gleneagles has experienced the ups and downs of the post-pandemic world. The ups included heightened popularity and increased play. The downs include but are not limited to the challenges of finding enough help. Hsieh could not hire more help, at least not much more, even if it were available. The resources just are not there. Still, golfers have their demands, and they will go elsewhere if they do not believe they are getting enough value out of their $25 greens fees. 
    His solution now is to cross train employees so that anyone can help out almost anywhere in a pinch.
    "I'm grateful to have an excellent group of employees who care as much about Gleneagles as I do," Hsieh said.
    It was not always an all-hands-on-deck philosophy at Gleneagles.

    Keeping Gleneagles Golf Course at McLaren Park in San Francisco requires everyone at the facility to pitch in. Photo from Tom Hsieh Hsieh entered into an 18-year lease with the city in 2005. Today, he is in his third successive year of a year-by-year extension.
    "That makes it difficult for employees," he said. "It makes it difficult to make long-term plans. And it's difficult for the golfers who love to play Gleneagles."
    More than a decade ago, when he needed a long-term solution for on-course labor, Hsieh worked with the city to bring trainees in a union-backed apprenticeship program to work at Gleneagles. 
    That program paired the Laborers Community Training Foundation and Northern California District Council of Laborers, Local 261 with the golf course to teach career skills to residents of one of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods while providing the 62-acre Gleneagles with a pipeline to cost-effective labor. 
    The program was a favorite project of former San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. When Lee died in office in 2017, the apprenticeship program went with him.
    "When he died, that program no longer was a priority, and it needs support from the mayor's office," Hsieh said. "Ed Lee was a great friend to golf. He had a standing tee time at Harding Park every Saturday morning.
    "I would love to start that program again: The golf course gets labor while we help train people to go into the workforce. It would be a win-win."
    Then came the pandemic. Golf ran the spectrum of a banned vs. approved activity in California. Initially, nothing was allowed to open, and the Internet was rife with photos of families picnicking on fairways and greens and children turning bunkers into their personal sandbox as people looked to get outside.
    To keep the course afloat, Hsieh raised $35,000 through a Covid-era GoFundMe initiative.
    Eventually, golf became an approved outdoor activity, if not the only approved outdoor activity.

    San Francisco Bay looms in the background at Gleneagles Golf Course. Photo from Tom Hsieh People were not permitted to congregate almost anywhere except a golf course. But while the pandemic created opportunities for golf, it also created problems, namely in the way of labor issues. In response, many properties are learning and leaning more on high-tech advancements like drones, robotic mowers and other forms of autonomous equipment to help meet labor challenges without compromising turf quality.
    Gleneagles is not one of those places.
    No one is going to mistake Gleneagles for its municipal siblings Lincoln Park, Sharp Park, TPC Fleming Park, Golden Gate Park and TPC Harding Park, the site of the 2009 Presidents Cup and the PGA Championship in 2020.
    Here, innovation is limited to finding a way for a front-of-the-house employee to also help on the golf course.
    The Jack Fleming design opened with great fanfare in 1962 as the most expensive nine-hole course ever built. Fleming was an associate of Alister MacKenzie, who teamed with the latter on projects like Cypress Point in Pebble Beach and Sharp Park, another San Francisco municipal track. 
    That much-heralded opening was a long time ago, in more ways than one.
    By the 1980s, the course fell into a state of neglect and disrepair thanks to aging infrastructure and rising crime in the surrounding neighborhood on San Francisco's forgotten southeast side.
    Hsieh, a San Francisco native who has spent his career in and around local politics, took over managing and operating the course in 2005. Making a go of it has not been easy. San Francisco's recreation and parks department does not invest in the city's golf courses, and resources in the way of equipment, product and personnel never have been in abundant supply at Gleneagles at any point in the past two decades. 
    As a campaign advisor who also supports local civic projects like zoos, libraries and senior citizen initiatives through fundraising ventures, Hsieh knows what it takes to get things done. He has invested a lot of his own money in making upgrades to the course and other infrastructure on the property.
    He also invests a lot of brain power in finding new ways to tackle old problems. 
    Currently, the golf course maintenance staff consists of superintendent Ishmael Herrardo, who also is Gleneagles' mechanic, and a part-time greenkeeper.
    The bartender is also Gleneagles' starter and on his off days traps gophers on the golf course. He also mows greens when Herrardo is away.
    The course has suffered a lot of tree damage during the past two winters. Each event leaves debris scattered about the property and a total of 34 mature trees as old as 80 years or more, have been toppled by high winds (shown at right).
    "Everyone, and I mean everyone, myself included, have been pulling shifts on the golf course to get debris into a chipper, and limbs off the ninth green or off the roof of the building to get back open," Hsieh said. "That's what it takes to run Gleneagles. 
    "We cross-train as much as we can to make things work. It's not ideal, but it's working."
    Indeed it is.
    Gleneagles has enjoyed the same increased popularity and rise in play that have defined the post-pandemic industry. 
    "More people are discovering the magic of golf at Gleneagles than we saw at pre-pandemic levels. I've never seen as many women playing here as I have in the past five years," Hsieh said. "Play is up here by about 20 percent. We get wild compliments for our greens. The course looks amazing. It's the best it's been in decades. But it hasn't been easy."
  • As autonomous mowers continue to make inroads into the mainstream of golf turf maintenance, the makers of FireFly Automatix entered the market with a singular goal. According to a recent TurfNet interview, they sought to manufacture what they envisioned would be "the best fairway mower on the market."
    Recently, Firefly Automatix has made what it calls "a major update" to the autonomy software of its all-electric AMP (autonomous mowing platform) mowers. These updates, the company says, reflect a commitment from FireFly Automatix to listen and respond to users with continuous innovation designed to make their AMP mower experience more efficient and user-friendly.

    Firefly Automatix recently announced software updates based on user feedback. Smart Start
    The new Smart Start feature allows operators to drop off the AMP mower anywhere within the fairway. The mower autonomously finds its path starting point and begins mowing, significantly reducing manual driving time and streamlining operations.
    Fairway Mode
    With Fairway Mode, users can save specific mowing and operating boundaries, enabling the AMP mower to execute turns either in the rough or within the fairways. This feature can reduce the number of clean-up passes needed and provides added flexibility for each course.
    Keep-Out Zones
    The enhanced Keep-Out Zones feature empowers the AMP mower to safely navigate around obstacles in the fairways while preserving straight mowing lines and consistent striping. This capability improves efficiency and maintains the aesthetic quality of the turf.
    Refreshed User Interface
    The software update includes a refreshed user interface to enhance the operator experience. With an improved workflow and a more cohesive look and feel, the new interface makes controlling and managing the AMP mower more intuitive and efficient.
  • Erick Begitschke is involved in a host of research projects at the University of Georgia, where he is busy working toward a doctorate degree.
    His research includes, but is not limited to, work related to wear tolerance and the effects of weeds on turfgrass. As a result of his work, Begitschke (right) has been named the recipient of the Musser International Turfgrass Foundation 2025 Award of Excellence.
    The award is given to outstanding doctoral candidates who, in the final phase of their graduate studies, demonstrated overall excellence throughout their turfgrass research.
    Criteria on which candidates are judged include: 
    Graduate work. Academic record. Dissertation. Publications. Leadership. Extracurricular activities. "I am deeply humbled and honored to receive the Musser Award of Excellence," Begitschke said. "I greatly respect the previous winners and their remarkable contributions to the turfgrass industry. I will strive to uphold the legacy of this Award by continuing to serve the industry with pride throughout my career."
    Begitschke earned a bachelor's degree in turfgrass management from the University of Georgia, and master's degree in turfgrass weed science from Mississippi State University under Jay McCurdy, Ph.D. His research at Mississippi State focused on utilizing preemergent herbicides in hybrid Bermudagrass sod production. Between his graduate and post-graduate work he worked for SePRO Corp. as a research associate at its Rocky Mount, North Carolina research facility.
    He is currently finishing his doctoral work in crop and soil science with a concentration in turfgrass science from UGA under Gerald Henry, Ph.D. 
    As a graduate research assistant in Henry's lab, Begitschke's doctoral research is based on providing safe sports field playing surfaces that maximize athlete performance. This is accomplished through the use of wearable sensor technology that measures biomechanical movements to gauge the overall performance and safety of sports fields. The data will be used to evaluate how soil profile or surface canopy changes, such as excessive traffic/wear, weed pressure, soil moisture, etc., can alter the biomechanics of athletes and potentially lead to increased injury risk. His dissertation is titled "Evaluation of novel techniques to measure athletic field performance and player safety."
    An additional aspect of his research involves using plant physiological responses to wear to determine traffic thresholds. This methodology can be integrated into turfgrass breeding programs to select genotypes that exhibit wear/traffic tolerance. 
    His research also evaluates the physiological response of common turfgrass weeds to traffic and how weed presence influences athlete biomechanics to help justify the need for weed control, especially on lower-budget community-level athletic fields. 
    Begitschke has already published nine peer-reviewed research papers from his graduate and doctoral projects and has six more currently in draft or under review. He is an author of more than 30 scientific abstracts and has given approximately 40 research presentations nationally and internationally. He plans to dedicate his career to offering sustainable solutions to turfgrass managers through applied research.
    "This accomplishment would not have been possible without the unwavering love and support of my wife, Madison, and the invaluable guidance and patience of Drs. Gerald Henry and Jay McCurdy," said Begitschke. "I want to thank all of them for their encouragement and belief in me."
    To date, awards have been granted to doctoral students from universities including Arizona, Auburn, Cornell, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Michigan State, Rutgers, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech. 
    Named for former Penn State turfgrass breeder H. Burton Musser, the Musser International Turfgrass Foundation was organized for the following purposes:
    Promote and foster turfgrass as a learned profession. Recognize the name, teachings, and achievements of H.B. Musser, Professor Emeritus of Agronomy, a pioneer in the development, management and care of turfgrasses for recreation, commerce and aesthetic purposes, and to perpetuate these outstanding contributions with the H.B Musser Turfgrass Fellowship, thereby continuing his dedicated life to enhancing the lives of people all over the world through turfgrass. Initiate and maintain a fund, the proceeds from which will foster and support education and research in turfgrass development and turfgrass management.
  • Technology in the golf turf business is changing rapidly, and nowhere is that more evident than in the world of autonomous mowing.
    As grass-mowing robots continue to make inroads into the professional turf market, the differences go well below the surface.
    More than two years ago, Kress debuted its line of battery-operated autonomous mowers on the North American turf market when the company displayed its units at the 2022 Equip Expo in Louisville, Kentucky. The company has since upped its game as it focuses more on the golf market.
    Kress mowers are guided by Real Time Kinetics antennas that communicate with the units via 4G satellite-guided technology, have a range of 10 miles, extend over and around obstacles, and eliminate the need for underground wiring and beacons to keep units on track within 2-3 cm of accuracy.
    The technology is improving faster than many could have imagined.

    Kress mowers operate of a Real Time Kinetics antenna, each of which can command mowers within a 10-mile radius. Photo by John Reitman Former golf course superintendent Tim Barrier, CGCS, is such a believer he came aboard at Kress last year as the company's golf business manager.
    "If you had asked me four years ago, I would have said we were 10 years away," Barrier said during the GCSAA Conference and Show in San Diego. "The technology just wasn't there. The adoption is coming a lot faster now."
    A recent conference highlighting robotic technology, Barrier said, was attended by about 150 golf course superintendents.
    The 10-mile range means that using the RTK technology does not require an on-site antenna as long as there is another nearby. It also does not require licensing or subscription fees. 
    The RTK technology was developed for use by the U.S. Department of Defense and later was used by the agriculture industry before being adopted for use in turf, Barrier said.
    A network of antennas working together extends the range and strength. Barrier says a network of five antennas within range of each other cover the distance between Los Angeles and San Diego. A single antenna strategically placed in La Quinta is able to reach 70 golf courses in California's Coachella Valley.
    Height of cut can be adjusted for fairways or rough areas, and can be programmed to change automatically as the unit moves from one zone to another.
    Kress was founded in 1928 in Germany and has been a leader in the manufacturing of electric batteries for nearly a century. The company joined the Positec Group, a manufacturing company based in Suzhou, China that specializes in the production of power tools and lawn and garden equipment.
    There are many benefits to using autonomous mowers, Barrier said. They eliminate fossil fuel emissions, and at 46 pounds per unit, the mowers minimize the impact on turf and can be used in rain or wet conditions.
    As labor continues to be a challenge for superintendents, autonomous mowers can help free up human resources to focus time on more detailed work around the golf course.
    "Covid created more interest in the game, but it also created a labor shortage," Barrier said. "When employees don't show up, we can't get our work done.
    "That doesn't work for superintendents. We are control freaks. It's the way we're wired."
  • More than 11,000 people attended this year's GCSAA Conference and Show in San Diego. After years on a three-year rotation in San Diego, the show will not return to Southern California until 2029. Photo by John Reitman With the exception of two years during the height of the Covid pandemic, the GCSAA Conference and Show has been relatively consistent for the past eight years in its appeal to golf course superintendents.
    Attendance at this year's show, which was the last in San Diego for several years, was, according to the GCSAA, "more than 11,000," a number that has been the norm since the 2018 show in San Antonio. The only outlier in that time was 2022 in San Diego, when a Covid-plagued show drew 6,500 attendees. The 2021 show was held virtually due to the pandemic.
    Last year's Phoenix show attracted "nearly 11,000" and the 2023 show in Orlando drew "about 11,000."
    More than 6,700 educational seminar seats were filled this year, the most since the 2008 mega show in Orlando that also set records for attendance and number of vendors renting exhibit space.
    On the trade show floor, 464 vendors rented 154,100 square feet of exhibit space in what seemed (and felt) like a long and narrow San Diego Convention Center. That is down slightly from 470 exhibitors last year in Phoenix and up from 450 two years ago in Orlando.
    Awards bestowed during the week were:
    Col. John Morley Award — Pat Finlen, CGCS, executive vice president, Denehy Club Thinking Partners. President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship — Matt Gourlay, CGCS, MG, AGS, superintendent, Hillcrest Country Club, Boise, Idaho. Outstanding Contribution Award — Wendy Gelernter, Ph.D., and Larry Stowell, Ph.D., founders of PACE Turf. Old Tom Morris Award — Ozzie Smith, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals. Emerging Leader Award — Chad Allen, superintendent, The Club at Chatham Hills, Westfield, Indiana. Edwin Budding Award — Skip Heinz, CTEM, equipment and facilities manager, Royal Poinciana Golf Club, Naples, Florida. Next year's show is scheduled for Jan. 30-Feb. 5 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. The 2027 show will return to New Orleans for the first time since 2009. Citing the cost of hotel accommodations and other costs of exhibiting on the West Coast, the show will not return to San Diego until 2029. Because the show has contracted in size during the past two decades, destinations such as Austin, Phoenix and Las Vegas, according to GCSAA, are under consideration for future dates.
  • The Canadian Golf Superintendents Association recently named Kathryn Wood as its chief executive officer. Woods' appointment, which is effective immediately, follows a year as interim CEO of the CGSA.
    Wood (at right) has worked with the association since 1998. Prior to stepping into the interim CEO position, she has served as the association's member services manager and director of professional development and events, and most recently was its chief operating officer.
    "Kathryn has proven herself to be an invaluable member of our staff with commitment to the CGSA's mission and values," said John McLinden, AGS, CGSA president. "Her extensive experience will undoubtedly steer the CGSA towards new heights and further bring the mission to the forefront of the Canadian golf industry."
    Wood's appointment as CEO marks a new chapter for the CGSA. Under her leadership, the association looks forward to expanding its programs and initiatives, enhancing member engagement, and promoting the sustainable management of golf course environments.
    "I am deeply honoured and excited to take on the role of CEO," Wood said. "The CGSA has been a significant part of my professional journey, and I am committed to driving our mission forward, supporting our members, and championing the work of golf superintendents nationwide."
  • Two years ago, the U.S. Golf Association sent a buzz through the golf turf maintenance world when it launched the GS3 smart golf ball that measures metrics like green speed as well as surface firmness, trueness and smoothness.
    The game's governing body made another splash at this year's GCSAA Conference and Show when it launched the USGA Moisture Meter. 
    Available with 1.5-inch or 3-inch tines and powered through a USB charger, the tool provides golf course superintendents with precise and consistent data that includes soil moisture, salinity and temperature. The data instantly uploads into the USGA's Deacon technology platform through the user's mobile phone that attaches to the monitor, creating a digital record that can be used to help superintendents manage water usage while also maximizing plant health and playability.
    Constructed from aluminum, the device is impact resistant, yet lightweight for ease of use.
    The monitor, demonstrated (at right) by Jeff Kinney of the USGA at the GCSAA Conference and Show, is part of the association's sustainability efforts, announced in 2023, to invest $30 million over a 15-year span to help superintendents reduce water usage on golf courses.
    The soil moisture sensors in the monitor are manufactured by Meter Group, a leading technology provider of soil-plant atmospheric data for the agriculture market for the past three decades.
    Benefits of the USGA Moisture Meter are:
    Improved course consistency: By providing accurate and real-time soil moisture data, the USGA Moisture Meter empowers superintendents to make data-driven decisions, resulting in more consistent playing surfaces throughout the season. Proprietary technology: CDX technology from Meter Group provides precise and consistent soil moisture, salinity and temperature readings. Increased efficiency: The tool streamlines the data-collection process, allowing superintendents to focus on other critical tasks. Enhanced decision-making: The integration with Deacon provides a comprehensive view of course conditions, providing superintendents with the information needed to provide what is needed precisely where it is needed. The Deacon app is a digital platform launched by the USGA in 2021 to provide superintendents with the tools to make decisions to manage turf more efficiently and improve the golfer experience. Superintendents can input data into Deacon, which tracks putting green surface management via the GS3 smart golf ball, creates pace-of-play reports, provides hole-location options and provides weather insights. 
    At the GCSAA Show in San Diego, the USGA also launched the next generation of its Deacon system — Deacon Release 23. Upgrades include an overhaul of the user experience that makes it easier for superintendents to integrate data and find information faster.
    Upgrades in Deach R23 are:
    Enhanced navigation: A reimagined interface that simplifies workflows, making it easier to access the platform's tools. Better reporting tools: More intuitive reporting functionality on both web and mobile platforms. Faster testing time: Simplified GS3 smart golf ball tests and new USGA Moisture Meter readings on mobile, providing real-time data to support decision-making. Improved application logs: Streamlined tracking of applications and nutrient management. Advanced jobs and reporting: Improved tools for monitoring and recording job activities. The USGA says proceeds from the USGA Moisture Meter will be directly re-invested into the association's efforts to meet its 15-year sustainability and water-use goals.
  • Fourteenth century poet Geoffrey Chaucer is credited with coining some version of the phrase "all good things must come to an end."
    For the past five years, the number of golfers in the game and rounds played have steadily increased, but an underlying question is how long this Covid-fueled resurgence will last.
    That was a topic for discussion during the annual state of the golf industry report presented jointly by Pellucid Golf and Edgehill Golf Advisors during the recent PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.
    "Cycles go up and down," said Pellucid founder Jim Koppenhaver. 
    None of the key indicators are going down, at least not yet. Among the takeaways from last year are a 3 percent increase in the number of golfers, most of whom are women, and a record number of rounds played.
    Continued growth in the number of golfers playing the game and the rounds they are playing was a little unexpected, said Koppenhaver, because there is no real concerted effort to grow the game on a national level, and no one really knows what is driving the increase in interest.
    "We're seeing growth continue, and it surprises me," Koppenhaver said. "It's not going to last forever."
    The report contradicts what golfers and non-golfers alike say are the most common barriers to playing the game: It's too difficult, it takes too long to play and it is expensive. 
    "I can tell you that's not true," Koppenhaver said of the supposed barriers to the game. "Because we didn't break any of those."
    Indeed, the game is still as hard as ever, still takes too long to play and green fees and the price of clubs and balls continue to go up, not down.

    A total of 23.4 million golfers played a record-high 532 million rounds in 2024, according to the annual state of the industry report. According to the report, there were 23.4 million golfers in the market last year. Those figures include 4.3 million players who left the game, a number that was offset by a gain of 4.9 million new players, for a net gain of 600,000 new golfers, 400,000 of whom are women. 
    The market retained a total of 18.5 million players. Retaining more of the 4.3 million who walked away should be a focus of owners and operators. Koppenhaver believes tools to help people play better is a key to retention..
    "Player development is important," he said. "If people get better faster, they will play more and stick with the game."
    According to the report, a record 532 million rounds were played in 2024, which, Koppenhaver said, is 10 percent above the supply-demand equilibrium and the first time the 530 million round mark was eclipsed. Koppenhaver defines supply-demand equilibrium as an average of about 40,000 rounds per 18-hole equivalent. 
    The report also revealed a net loss of 50 more golf courses (EHE) last year. A total of 25 new courses went into the ground while 75 closed. 
    The supply of golf courses nationwide has been contracting every year since 2006, and has reached a net loss of 2,115 properties (EHE) in the past 19 years, dropping from 14,848 18-hole equivalents in 2006 to 12,733 last year. 
    The 530-million-plus rounds level of play could support adding another 1,000 golf courses (in 18-hole equivalents), Koppenhaver said.
    "You can't find the land at the right price," Koppenhaver said, "to put in the right facility."
    Not surprisingly, the greatest gains in attracting and retaining golfers were among those in the $75,000-and-up age group. Perhaps the best news coming out of the report was that the game made significant increases among younger players. Those in the 7-17 and 18-34 age groups accounted for the largest gains, with the golfer population in both segments growing by 10 percent. There was a 3.4 percent gain in those ages 35-54. The number of golfers in the 55-64 and 65 and up age groups, which traditionally have carried the game, were down by 7 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
    "We don't need big ideas. Simple stuff will do," Koppenhaver said. "Just get a club in someone's hands."
  • HineCraft LLC, maker of the TurfTrainer, has created a reputation of being a family business in more ways than one. 
    Since HineCraft was founded, a team of five has been running the show; Rodney Hine, president and golf course superintendent, and Caroline Hine, vice president, have been supported by their three children, Cassie, Wesley and William.
    Five years ago, the young trio worked the company's booth at the 2019 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show here in San Diego, and this year, two of the three are returning to the show again in Southern California.
    As part of the HineCraft team, Cassie, Wesley and William have supported the business in a variety of departments. The trio have worked as the sales team at the 2018 and 2019 GCSAA conventions as well as a few regional conventions in the U.S. and the UK's BTME convention.

    From left, Caroline, Cassie and William Hine each play a key role in the family business started by superintendent, husband and dad Rodney Hine. Photo by John Reitman Off the floor, Cassie, who majors in visual media studies and production at Emerson College in Boston, focuses primarily on marketing and media production for the TurfTrainer. 
    "Having grown up and worked in the golf world, I have gained experience that has helped me refine and produce media and communications that are specific to this industry," Cassie said. "HineCraft has given me a platform to build a repertoire of skills and a portfolio, while supporting a business that is so important to me."
    Wesley, now a first-year cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy, has focused on prototyping and testing. 
    "Working as a part of TurfTrainer has taught me the complexities and dedication of bringing a product to market, and how to make that business succeed," Wesley said.
    William, a rising business and marketing student at his high school, is integral for the sales team as well as in production and shipping.
    "TurfTrainer has had a major, positive impact on me by giving me real world experience in business," William said. "Be it marketing our product at conventions, or learning how to build it, I have been able to broaden my knowledge of how a business is run. The family business has helped me discover my love for business and I continue to pursue that love in school and in clubs like DECA."
    Invented and patented by Rodney Hine in 2018, the TurfTrainer is a unique, easy-to-use and budget-friendly turf-brushing system, designed to improve turf playability, performance and health.
    For more information, visit the company's web site , or drop by booth #5411 in San Diego.

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